Fermentation fridge upgrade

[Romex2121]

Hope I’m in the right section,, anybody familiar with Avanti 7.1 cubic inch apartment refrigerator/freezer
Model # AVRPD7300BW ??
Has a small freezer on top of fridge but there’s no fan to blow cold air from freezer to fridge like most refrigerators,, I was thinking about cutting a small section out between the two and put a small fan to blow air from the freezer compartment to the fridge compartment when the unit kicks on ,
LoTs of cold air in freezer that’s not being used for anything that could cool fridge better , hoping someone knows if there’s any cooling lines between freezer and fridge , everything is sealed on back of unit so I can’t see where anything is as far as cooling lines ..

 

[Romex2121]

Wife just bought this unit and I Haven’t used this fridge as of yet and it may cool just fine , kinda just thinking out loud about making it more efficient in cooling fridge compartment by adding small fan between freezer and fridge and using some of the wasted cold air in freezer.. this unit will only be used for fermentation and to keep keg cold when needed

 

[day_trippr]

Reviews state that unit uses the back wall of freezer and food compartments as cold plates, so they will collect condensation - and it does not have a defrost function. To get "cold" from freezer to food compartment you would need to provide an air return, which would bring humidity from the food compartment to the freezer section. My bet is that freezer back wall would quickly frost over which would significantly degrade performance...

 

[IslandLizard]

Using such a fridge for fermentation should be fine. The heat production during fermentation is quite minimal. Just chill your wort close to your prefered pitching temps before adding the yeast. If that's difficult, chill the wort in the fermenter down to pitching temps (in your new fridge) before pitching yeast.

I doubt you would even need a recirculation fan in the fridge compartment, but it won't hurt.

I would strap the temp probe of your (external) temp controller to the side of the fermenter, with a 1/2" thick piece of packing foam over it.

Are you using plastic carboys or buckets as fermenters?

 

[Romex2121]

For 5 gallon brews I’m using a
big mouth bubbler ( plastic)
For smaller batches I use a 3 gallon
SS conical fermenter , I use the small conical more than anything .
I’ve always taped the ink bird probe to the outside of the fermenter and put foam and a rag over it .